Last Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans to reduce the active-duty Army from its current strength of 522,000 soldiers to between 444,000 and 450,000 – the smallest in 74 years. As America moves beyond the costly and controversial post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hagel’s rationale for “shrinking the Army ... and reshaping forces to confront a more volatile, more unpredictable world with a more nimble military,” makes sense. However, that doesn’t mean it’s politically doable.Predictably, the reaction from two Republicans in Congress to Hagel’s proposal to cut the Army was swift and negative.